When keeping a watchful eye on your car to make sure it’s as healthy and protected as possible, most people may focus on dented doors or car scratches because those are the most frequent and obvious forms of physical damage to a car’s exterior. However, anytime you drive or park your car outside, you are also placing your vehicle under the might and will of the weather. In a summer with as whacky weather conditions as this one across the USA, it is very important that you are mindful of the effects that the weather can have on your car, regardless of whether you are wheeling in the warmness of the West Coast or subjected to the storms of the South and Midwest or the chill of the East Coast.

Wet Weather

• Be sure to wash your car frequently! When the atmosphere reaches a freezing temperature, any debris or dust laying dormant on your car’s surface can become trapped and become sealed to your car’s surface and create large inconveniences or even permanent damage. It is also very important to clean your car shortly after it has been raining or snowing; the droplets may be small but are not innocent! Each piece of precipitation contains little bits of dirt that, once on your car, can leave nasty little spots or stains and even injure your car’s surface after extended exposure.
• Cover your car! If you don’t have access to a garage to park in at home or when you are out driving, placing a cover over your vehicle is a great way to protect your car from the meteorological menaces that can attack it in unpleasant weather. You can find an effective cover for under $100, if you don’t make one yourself, and this investment is definitely a better alternative than the price of repair.

Warm Weather

• Use car wax with UV absorbers! It is important that the car wax you use has effective UV absorbers to protect against sun damage. If you don’t normally use wax to protect the surface of your car, it is a very good idea to look into some sort of wax product if you are leaving your car outside for long periods of sun exposure or intense heat. Sun spots on your car are very hard to get rid of, and in some cases this type of damage may even require you to sand and repaint your car, so it is beneficial to stop this blemish before it happens.
• Be mindful of your accessories and electronics! Though this tip may not directly affect the performance of your car, it is extremely important for any car owner to pay attention to what is inside your car and how the sun or heat can affect it. A good example of a vulnerable car accessory that is susceptible to heat damage is the GPS system. While most GPS systems are designed to be able to remain healthy inside cars at all times, many systems have also been known to malfunction or act up after staying in a car whose interior can reach high temperatures. Think about taking your GPS system, as well as car-related and unrelated electronics and accessories, with you into your house or to your destination, before locking them in your car.

At the end of the day (when hopefully whatever weather condition you’re experiencing has calmed down), the environmental impact that the weather can have on your car should not be ignored. Major damage or permanent tarnishes to your car’s surface may look unpleasant, but you also have to consider all the money you could save on repairs—save it for a rainy day.